by H. A. Wills
When we arrive at Nolan’s place, we’re redirected to a clearing further down that’s been turned into a makeshift parking lot. The fact that we’re close friends with the birthday boy didn’t seem to matter to the guy at the gate. There are a ton of cars where we eventually park with a snaking trail of costumed individuals following a spooky decorated path leading up to the main house.
Holy crap, is the whole town here?
Once Connor parks, I leap out of the Tahoe before he can help me down, gripping the car door to keep from tipping over. The boots have a platform heel because clearly, that’s necessary for a demi-goddess to kick Nazi butt. As long as I don’t face-plant, being a few inches taller is nice. I will not fall down. I will not fall down. Crap, I’ll need to find a chair or a wall to lean on all night.
From the passenger seat, I grab the small gift bag that holds my present for Nolan. It’s a bracelet made up of shiny, round onyx beads sporadically broken up by stainless steel beads that have tiny bats carved into them. It’s strung on braided leather with a knot clasping it closed and drawstrings to tighten it. I made it in my Jewelry 1 class, because what do you get the guy that can and does buy himself literally everything he wants? It’s not very exciting, but it’s the thought that counts, right? At the very least, he might find the little bats funny.
Following the crowd and only one twisted ankle close call later, we find Kaleb and Donovan waiting for us at the entrance to the path.
I smile seeing Kaleb dressed as Captain America sans the helmet, and he offers up one in answer. The costume looks to be a dark denim jumpsuit made to look like Cap’s and is a snug fit, but definitely not skin tight spandex.
A fresh blush burns my cheeks remembering the way I put my foot in my mouth telling him about the many girls that would be disappointed he decided against spandex. After that night on the cliffside, I can’t determine if I’m one of them. Even as oblivious as I can be, I’m pretty sure he was going to kiss me, but maybe it’s better that he didn’t. What if it turned out like when Nolan and I kissed? What if he also thought it was a mistake?
Donovan has his black hair tousled like he just rolled out of bed-- only nice?—and is wearing heavy eyeliner that makes his aqua eyes glow, tight leather pants, black boots, and of course, no shirt. There’s a guitar strapped across his chest.
“And you are what exactly?” I tease.
“A rock star, obviously,” he answers with his standard smirk.
“Obviously,” I parrot mockingly, then gesture at the guitar, “Can you actually play that or is it just a prop?”
“Oh no, I can play it,” he assures smugly while strumming a few cords with his fingers, followed by an up and down of my costume. “Nice Wonder Woman getup.”
“Thanks,” I answer awkwardly, resisting the urge to pull down on the booty shorts. Just gotta own it.
His gaze shifts from me to Connor and he groans, “What the hell are you wearing?”
“Apparently, he’s going as a student this year,” I answer for him since Connor only does another one of his patented shrugs.
“You know you won’t hear the end of it if you come into the party like that,” Kaleb sighs, then while walking back toward their truck, he yells over his shoulder, “Follow me.”
Once we reach the truck, Kaleb climbs into the cab and comes out with a black t-shirt. Throwing it at Connor, he instructs, “Put that on.”
Connor sniffs it.
“It’s clean,” Donovan informs indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest… that is bare and muscly.
Connor shrugs, then does as he’s told, stripping down to the waist in the parking lot and throwing his flannel over the side of the truck bed.
I studiously check my arm guards that have indeed stayed in place since I put them on-- my blush from earlier going nowhere.
Kaleb hops up into the bed of the truck and starts rummaging through a large box mounted to the back. Curious, I peek over and find that the box is filled with… “Swords? You have swords stashed in the back of your truck?”
Donovan gestures at himself. “Dark nephilim, remember? Demon hunting kind of a big part of my life.”
“But that’s not until after graduation, right?” I question, a thread of panic weaving around my heart.
“That’s the plan,” he reassures, my anxiety easing, “but it’s better to have it and not need it than the other way around.”
Kaleb hands Connor a large piece of duct tape, which was apparently what he was looking for in the sword box, and says, “Tape this to your chest.”
It’s only after Connor puts it on that I see, in block letters, Kaleb wrote ‘Ninja’ with a sharpie. Donovan and I both start laughing while Kaleb gets back out of the truck.
He nods at his handiwork and comments, “Nolan should find it funny enough to think it was intentional. Now let’s get to the party before we start getting texts wondering where we are.”
“Lead the way, Cap,” I chirp, more than ready to be indoors.
∞∞∞
Nolan kept his word and made sure all the decorations for the party were Callie approved, which means nothing will pop out at me, no knives-- even fake ones, no type of evil scientist style decorations, and nothing that could be mistaken for a flame. Instead, all the decorations are mostly fog, spider webs, and lights. However, it appears he couldn’t help himself, and on the front door is what looks like a witch that’s crashed into it, arms and legs spread like a star with her broom poking out.
“The coven must love that,” I chuckle, while Kaleb rings the doorbell that’s been changed to sound like the toll of old gothic bells.
A doorman dressed as Frankenstein's monster answers, and with a few heavy groans, gestures for us to enter. The foyer is decorated to look like a spooky crossroads with twisted metal signs that point in different directions where attendees can find food, dancing, a photo booth, a fortune teller, and more. There even appears to be an area specifically designed for small children where they can play safely and parents can enjoy the night.
Yeah, it might not be an over exaggeration that the whole town is here. Definitely more than just Nolan’s friends.
“You’re here!” Felix cheers, popping up out of nowhere and scaring the crap out of me.
“What did I say about doing that, Casper?” I gasp, throwing my arms out before I have a close encounter with the granite floor, while the guys chuckle at me.
“That ghosts gotta ghost, so it’s just part of the friend experience?” he replies, though I can’t see his face behind his fake Yoda mask.
“Pretty sure that’s not what I said,” I grumble then take in his costume. “Why are you dressed in a cheesy Yoda costume?”
“It’s a ghost Yoda costume,” he corrects, holding out his arm. “Note the subtle blue glow.”
“Uh huh, but can’t you make yourself look like the real Yoda?” I question, walking further into the room and away from the door. I can at least attempt to not look crazy as I have a one-sided conversation with empty air. The guys follow, Connor hovering close by in case I topple over.
Felix tips his head side to side. “Probably, but that’d be weird.”
“Yes, and ghostly rubber mask, much better,” I laugh.
“Exactly!” he cheers.
I shake my head and stop, I believe, near the stairs, though my view is blocked by a massive movie grade wall that makes it look like the crossroads lead into a spooky town in the distance.
Before I can ask what we should do now, I’m startled again when Nolan pops out of who-knows-where and taps me on the shoulder.
“Jesus, I’m putting bells on the lot of you,” I exclaim then give a squinty glare at the rest of the guys, who I’m positive saw him coming and didn’t say anything. Their innocent expressions don’t fool me.
“Callie love, you look absolutely stunning,” Nolan compliments, then he holds out his wrists together. “Feel free to tie me up and take me back to your island, great Amazon. I’m happy to surrende
r.”
“Wonder Woman is a demi-goddess, actually,” I correct, not sure what Nolan is supposed to be other than in a lot of leather. He kind of looks like a blonde version of Donovan’s costume.
Only Felix acknowledges my comment, answering with a nod of approval.
Donovan instead ribs Nolan, joking, “I’m sure that’s not all you’d be happy to do.”
Nolan gives a subtle bow of his head, replying, “What can I say? I’d be a talented man-servant.”
“As long as you didn’t have to do any actual servant chores,” he chuckles, then motions with his thumb toward wherever the loud music is coming from. “Happy Birthday, dude. I’m going to go dance.”
“Thanks,” Nolan replies with a two-finger wave.
Donovan grabs the back of Kaleb’s costume and drags him along, muttering, “I’m tired of living with a boy scout. You’re going to act like a fucking normal teenager tonight. Dance. Talk to a girl. Have fun. Not be you.”
Kaleb shrugs him off, grumbling, “You say that, but more people like me than you, so clearly I’m doing something right. And I talk to women all the time.”
“And yet your only girlfriend has been the Stepford wife,” Donovan taunts as they make their way across the foyer.
“That’s by choice, not due to lack of options,” he replies smoothly. “And how many girlfriends have you had again?”
“Depends what you consider a girlfriend,” he leers.
“Sometimes I wonder why I even engage with you. Might as well be talking to a dog in heat,” Kaleb laments.
“Don’t worry, I’m an excellent wingman,” he assures, ignoring the previous comment. “You’ll be drowning in girls by the time the night is through.”
“I don’t need a wingman,” Kaleb insists. “If I wanted another girlfriend, I’d have one.”
Donovan drops a heavy hand on Kaleb’s shoulder, and the last thing I see before they’re gone is Donovan grinning while he threatens, “If you don’t try, you’ll have a real winged man as your wingman.”
Another blush starts from the tips of my toes to the top of my head as the memory of Kaleb’s lips against my skin conga lines across my brain. There have been no new close calls since. Instead, he’s been more physically reserved around me like he’s making sure that the friendship line has a clearly painted divide. Personality is the same, so I don’t feel like I’ve broken anything, but I miss the invitations to hold his hand and more than a quick hug goodbye.
A girl dressed as a black cat strolls out from the direction Donovan and Kaleb headed toward, and her bright blue eyes widen when her gaze lands on Connor. It’s by his reaction to her, stiffened muscles and a hard shake of his head, that I’m able to place her. She was the girl from the last party I went to. The one that sat down next to him and made a point that he was the Alpha’s son. Sam. Her name is Sam. And she’s another wolf shifter.
Sam’s attention moves from Connor to me, a scathing look taking over her face as her gaze slowly slides up my form. And it seems she doesn’t like me. Well, she can take a number and get in line. A lot of people don’t like me.
A low growl rumbles from Connor, and her pale skin flushes red with anger. She flashes her teeth with a snarl, flips him off, and walks back the way she came.
Ooookay.
Connor sighs, drops a hand on Nolan’s shoulder, mutters, “Feliz cumpleaños,” then follows the sign that leads toward food.
“I’m going to follow him,” Felix announces slowly stepping away. “The one thing I can get Connor to talk about is food.” Musing to himself, he adds, “I wonder how many full sentences I can get him to say.”
“Don’t hold your breath. Oh wait, never mind,” Nolan calls after him.
“Ah, dead jokes. You’re hilarious,” Felix shouts back over his shoulder. “Don’t quit your day job.”
Nolan grins, then watching Connor and Felix walk away, he asks, “Did Connor’s shirt say ‘Ninja’ on it? I’m proud of him for trying. Last year he was a lumberjack… except he forgot an ax, so it was just him dressed as himself.”
“We’re just ignoring what happened there?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What can I say? Wolf politics are complicated,” he answers with a ‘what-can-you-do?’ quirk of his lips.
Pointing my finger back and forth between the two locations Connor and Sam went off in, I press, “And you have no idea what that was all about?”
“Nope. Nor do I want to. If it’s something we need to know, Connor will tell us,” he insists.
“Uh huh. Because Connor is so forthcoming,” I mutter, completely ignoring that it’s not like I’m an open book. Deciding to drop it, for now, I question, “Is this normal? All of them ditching you at your own birthday party?”
“This is the big party where I have to be the host and everything, so it’s not that big of a deal,” he answers with a shrug of his shoulders and a dismissive smile. “We’ll do a private thing on the second, which is my actual birthday.”
With hands fisted on my hips, a pinched expression takes over my face. Very slowly, I utter, “Are you saying I could’ve skipped out on this loud, crowded full of people I don’t know, party because your actual birthday party is next week?”
He drops one hand on my shoulder, and it’s surprisingly cool on my bare skin. With big innocent eyes, he admonishes, “Our Halloween parties are a tradition for Twin Cedar Pass, and it’d be weird if my new best friend didn’t come.”
I narrow my eyes and mutter, “People already think I’m weird, and you just said you’re going to play host the entire time. I could be in comfy jammies right now, instead of worrying about wedgies all night.”
Gathering me up in one of his hugs, he replies sweetly, “Thank you for coming, and you look lovely in your costume.” Then laughing darkly, he adds, “And I’d be happy to help with wedgie watch.”
“How magnanimous of you, but I think I’ll pass,” I grumble. Noticing that Nolan’s been talking with a subtle lisp, I take a closer look at his mouth and realize why. “You’re wearing fake vampire teeth. Why are you wearing fake vampire teeth?”
He releases me, steps back, and holds out his arms so I can fully appreciate his costume, announcing, “I’m The Vampire Lestat from Queen of the Damned.”
On top of the fake vampire teeth, he’s wearing a chin-length ash blonde wig, eyeliner that highlights his pale ice blue eyes, a leather dress coat, leather pants… and also no shirt.
“Your vampire costume and Donovan’s rock star costume look a lot alike, just saying,” I comment, holding my hands behind my back… totally not using the gift bag to try and cover my butt that’s hanging out of these shorts or anything. Should have used a larger gift bag.
Nolan smirks. “Probably because Lestat was a rock star in the movie.”
“Of course, silly me.”
I lean in closer to him, his familiar cologne scent mixing with the odd almost vanilla smell of the fog machines, then run a single finger across his chest. He jumps with surprise, while I examine my finger. No makeup.
Dragging him by one hand with only a minor wobble as I walk, I find a hidden spot among the decorations so we won’t be seen or overheard by any guests.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you?” I murmur.
His gaze drops, but his tone remains casual, “Callie love, I’m always hungry. Comes with the territory. But I’m fine, really.”
“You’re not fine,” I insist, squeezing his hand. “You’re movie vampire pale without makeup.” That’s when I start doing the math in my head. “Oh my god, you haven’t fed in nearly two weeks, have you? Why didn’t you say something?”
“It’s not that bad,” he assures, shifting his weight to his back foot and putting a little more distance between us. “I still have at least three more days in me before it becomes a problem.”
I groan and nearly smack myself in the face with his birthday present when I try to rub at my temple.
“The whole point is that
you don’t have to hold out until it becomes unbearable,” I emphasize. “Walking, talking, endless blood source right here. All the food, none of the guilt.”
He chuckles and reaches up to run his fingers through his hair, only to remember he’s wearing a wig and drops it back down at his side.
“Is it because of what happened before?” I question, then drop my voice to barely a whisper, “I really am sorry about that. I promise I’ll control myself this time.”
“What did I say about apologizing for that?” he reminds with a growl. “Don’t think I won’t do what I threatened to.”
I’m so annoyed, that I reply flippantly, “Oh no, I’m quaking in my Wonder Woman boots. Go ahead. What was it? You’ll kiss me so hard I’ll ‘forget my own name’.” I roll my eyes, then finding a well-hidden break in the giant wall, start dragging him toward his room. “But first you’re going to feed.”
We’re most of the way to his suite when my mind comes back to me and I realize: a) that I used the stairs instead of the elevator and b) I just told Nolan to kiss me, but only after he bites me. All the blood drains from my head, and I really wish time travel was a spirit witch power, so I could stuff a sock into ‘past me’s’ mouth.
I keep marching forward, too embarrassed to look at him, and once we’re inside, I drop his hand and kind of look around like I’m waiting on him. With my newly freed hand, I grip the stone that hangs around my neck and gently slide it back and forth on its chain. The necklace may not match the costume, but not blowing up the town takes priority. Don’t think Nolan would appreciate his home as ground zero either.
“Is that for me?” Nolan asks, motioning to the small bag I’ve been using as a butt shield.
I clear my throat and nod, stammering, “Yeah. Uh. Happy birthday… or happy early birthday? Should I wait until your actual birthday to give it to you? Wow, I’ve said birthday a lot.”
“Now’s fine,” he answers gently, slipping his fingers into the loops of the handles and extracting the bag from my grasp. Walking over to the couch, he sits down on the arm and starts pulling out the decorative tissue paper.